A new player has entered the transactional risk (TR) insurance market with the establishment of Devonshire UW Limited and its affiliate, Devonshire UW Europe GmbH, collectively known as Devonshire Underwriting.
In a news release announcing its launch, the managing general agent (MGA) described itself as “focused on positively disrupting” the TR insurance space with four specialist partners at its helm.
Founders Natasha Attray, James Dodd, James Fletcher, and Charles Turnham have a combined 30 years of experience in transactional liability underwriting, in addition to over 15 years of expertise in law and tax.
“Our aspiration is to be a market-leading, trusted TR underwriter focusing on challenging legal risks, respected for our deep expertise and execution record, and valued as a key strategic partner for our brokers and clients,” said Dodd. “Through our agile structure, experience and subject-matter expertise, we believe that we are ideally placed to deliver reliable, responsive solutions for the most demanding TR insurance requirements.”
Based in London, Devonshire Underwriting is backed by Lloyd’s and several A-rated insurance capacity providers. It is set to provide tailored solutions for brokers, corporates, private equity firms, professional advisers, and other specialist investors, with product offerings that include warranty & indemnity (W&I), tax, and contingency insurance.
The MGA is also poised to underwrite transactions on a global scale, including in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, South America, Central America, and Australasia. It is able to deploy per-risk line sizes of up to EUR 35,000,000.
“There is strong momentum in the TR market as a result of many years of resilient M&A activity and a significant upward trajectory in the use of TR products,” said Fletcher. “We are seeing a clear demand for a fresh approach to underwriting and bespoke service as the TR market and the applications of the products continue to evolve.”
Devonshire Underwriting received support from B.P. Marsh & Partners PLC, a specialist private equity investor known for its focus on early-stage financial services businesses.
“We are pleased to be making this investment in Devonshire, founded by an experienced team of specialists,” said Dan Topping, chief investment officer at B.P. Marsh. “We are looking forward to working with the team, to enable Devonshire to deliver on their business plan over the coming years”.
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